Durex has been trumpeting that its TV spot for its Durex Play Vibrations Ring is the first ever advert for a sex toy ever shown on British TV. I salute them for that and applaud them for breaking down the barriers to acceptance of sex toys as part of a normal, healthy sex lifestyle – it can only be good for business. But you have to question whether their advertising agency is paying attention to what’s going on in the market. Compare these two adverts, one for the Mates Vibrating Condom Ring, which was available on the Mates Web site earlier in 2006, and this more recent ad for the Durex Play Vibrating Ring…
I’d have loved to have been a fly on the agency’s wall when Durex realised that they were spending £1m+ on airtime for an advert that’s at best creatively bereft and at worst in danger of being called a direct copy of a competitor’s ad… If I was Durex, I’d be asking for a refund.
See if you can guess which ad is for which product before the pay-off…